Shipping weight: 4 Lbs.

$75

Pretty Manual Toaster

Landers, Frary & Clark in New Britain, Connecticut made several models of toasters with this particular pattern in the doors. It is a beautiful design and endured over a decade, as in this Corona branded model.

This one has a base that is formed with drawn corners rather than the usual scheme of cut and folded corners. It has rectangular fiber feet and fiber handles.

This model has a spring-loaded door on each side that clamps the bread against the guard wires. It is a model that can be useful for thick breads, and this particular one is the "Tall" model that is a little larger than usual and can take larger slices of bread.

It is in very good condition and comes with a detachable cord set that plugs into the base of the toaster.

Shipping weight: 4 Lbs.

$125

Heatmaster Automatic Toaster

This little beauty is both a show piece and a working toaster. You plug it in to warm up for about 20 seconds, adjust the light/dark setting lever, then depress the push down knob to close the door flaps at the bottom of the toasting chamber and wind the clock. Then drop in the bread, wait about a minute, then the trap door opens and the toast slides down the chute. Note that the current doesn't turn off -- whenever the toaster is plugged in the current is flowing. The clock merely times the toasting cycle. In the 1920s, that qualified as "automatic".

The body is chrome plated steel, the side handles are turned wood and the feet are pressed fiber. It is richly decorated on the on the sides and even on the back.

Fancy goods for sure, it is in very good condition with scattered pitting and small patches of corrosion. It comes with a detachable cord set, your choice of new or vintage.

Heatmaster Automatic Toaster
110-120 Volts, 660 Watts
A.C. or D.C.

Shipping weight: 7 Lbs.

SOLD

The Heatmaster Manual Toaster

This toaster toasts both sides of two slices and actually works pretty well with regular sandwich bread. But, it is entirely manual process. Not for the easily distracted; I'll call it the contra-Trump toaster.

I suspect it was on the market in the late 1920s, to compete with the popular but single-slice Toastmaster Automatic Pop Up Toaster shown above. This one wins the style contest hands down with the architectural mode.

If you use a timer, it is easy to use. Good scortched toast takes just about two minutes. This one is in excellent condition and comes with a detachable cord set that plugs into the back

Heatmaster Manual Toaster
110-120 Volts 660 Watts

$88

Toast in a Drawer from the late 1920s

This toaster came out in the late 1920s, a few years after the famed Toastmaster Automatic Pop-up Toaster hit the market in 1926 and was a huge success. This being America, competition for a share of the market was fierce among manufacturers of small electric appliances. An automatic toaster was a new-fangled thing.

The shape is architectural and the decoration is in the Lafayette pattern . Every detail is finished and decorated including the fasteners for the feet decorated with rosettes. This toaster was from one of a whole line of small appliances.

The styling is startlingly different from the Toastmaster with its louvered sides, but it is alike in two ways: it toasts one slice at a time, and it uses a clockworks mechanism for timing.
To make toast, first you plug in the cord and the current starts immediately to heating panels; you have to let it warm up for a minute or two.

The controls are located on the narrow side. At the bottom is the drawer handle, then next above is a stop lever which latches into a sawtooth slot to set the degree of doneness. Place the bread in the holder, close the drawer, then push down the upper lever to start the timing clock. It whirs furiously and then a bit erratically while the top lever slowly rises to the starting postion and when it does, it trips a lever to release the drawer which is spring loaded and pops out with the finished toast. The drawer is removable for easy cleaning.

Mind you, the drawer popped open, but the current is still on. It is essentially an oven style toaster with a timer to release the drawer. There is no internal mechanism to turn off the current which would probably have violated the patents held by Toastmaster. So, the toaster comes with a deluxe cord set with a switched plug for ease of use.

This is a good choice for a special gift for an antique collector, patent lawyer, designer, artist, etc. and while it does work, it is not recommended for anything but occasional use. By the way, you can demonstrate the mechanism without plugging in the cord.

Toast in a Drawer
Universal The Brand Name Known In Every Home
New Britain Conn. U.S.A.

AP in Lisbon, Connecticut bought a toaster like this one and wrote to say just a note to let you know that the toaster is perfect!
I love it. Best regards

Early Toaster with Rack Mounted On Top

Electric toasters had been around for less than a generation when this electric toaster was made in New Britain, Connecticut, by a company known for its high quality cutlery, hotel and hospital ware, and really beautiful early electric appliances.

The detachable cord plugs into the center of the base. The two doors are spring-loaded to clamp the bread against the guide wires and efficiently close to the heat to toast one side of each slice. Then you have to open the door, flip the slice to the other side and finish the toasting. This toaster has the deluxe feature of a built-in toast rack which keeps the finished toast warm while you are making more.

This toaster is in good condition with some corrosion on the base. It comes with a detachable cord set. This is one of the few toasters that will handle half a bagel, assuming you want only the cut side toasted.

Early Toaster with Rack Mounted On Top
Universal The Brand Name Known In Every Home
New Britain Conn. U.S.A.

The Push-O-Matic Toaster
unmarked

Shipping weight: 4 Lbs.

$125

Electroweld Reverso

This little toaster provided me with two surprises. The first surprise was the feet on the bottom. Every other one of this model that I've owned had the feet missing, and now I see why. They are made of a soft felt disk and not very durable.

Electroweld Reverso
Electro Weld Co.
Lynn, Mass.
110 Volts 5.5 Amps

$

SOLD

Universal Push Button Toaster

Very ornate from the
late 1920s with push buttons to flip the toast baskets to the other side.
It has a nickel-plated body and the drop handles, push buttons, and feet
are ivory colored material. It is decorated everywhere. First production circa 1928-1929.

This one is in excellent condition and working and comes with a detachable cord set.